


Deathwish

by elderscrolls



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: AU, Assassin AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, maybe. i think, some backstory spoilers for caleb & molly, some violence & mentions of nsfw but neither is excessively graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-20 09:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14892185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elderscrolls/pseuds/elderscrolls
Summary: Mollymauk was a man of many talents, which had led him to his current job. Assassination. He seduced, he killed, he collected his payment. Admittedly, it wasn't the kind of life he had imagined himself living, but he tried to make the best of it. He didn't have much of a choice, after all.(on a [semi-]hiatus until early July)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka i chose a random song for the title + the wifi cut like the first three times i tried to upload it so. its that cursed
> 
> i kind of wrote this on a whim so theres no particular update schedule yet

Mollymauk was a man of many talents. Most of them involved seduction, but as he had found out very quickly, he could also handle blades quite well. Both kinds.

Which had led him to his current job. Assassination. He seduced, he killed, he collected his payment. Admittedly, it wasn't the kind of life he had imagined himself living, but he tried to make the best of it. He didn't have much of a choice, after all.

And now, his sights were set on a crowded table. Five people, by the looks of it. A rather handsome half-orc (it was a shame Molly already had plans tonight); a muscular, dark-skinned woman who was, guessing by her robes, a monk; a short blue tiefling who spoke with a thick accent - she was so loud he could hear her all the way across the room - and waved her hands in extravagant gestures as she talked; an even shorter figure who wore a porcelain white mask; and with one hand on the masked figure’s shoulder was his target. A scruffy, unkempt redhead who appeared to be covered in a permanent layer of grime.

Molly had been informed of some things - apparently not that the man traveled in a _fucking_ group, for fuck’s sake, he better be paid extra for the hassle he's about to go through - about his target. The man was Caleb Widogast, known to some as a petty thief, known to most as a murderer. Molly had, admittedly, zoned out during some of the informing, but the fact that had stuck out to him the most was that the man had apparently killed his own parents.

Hm. Molly had to wonder what it was, exactly, that had driven Caleb to kill them. He didn't exactly have parents, having skipped the whole childhood portion of his life by way of waking up in a grave two years ago - a bit of an ultimate speedrun, if you will - but from what he understood, parents were generally very nice things to have.

He took another swig of his drink, letting his gaze drift around the room. Best not to seem too interested in any one group - the blue tiefling drew enough attention that perhaps it would be excused, but he didn't want to take that chance.

Unfortunately, seduction didn't appear to be an option now. Any attempt to pull Caleb away from the group would no doubt result in immediate suspicion, and with a group that large, he suspected they would be sharing rooms. Maybe Molly could rent a room and convince Caleb to join him, where he'd play out his usual M.O. - suck his dick and then kill him - but that still left his target's friends to worry about. It was a shame, really. The target was actually kind of cute, the more Molly stared at him.

Molly let his head drop onto the table with a _thud_ , his tail flicking idly against the table leg. Gods, he wished Yasha was here. She'd be able to help. Somehow. At the very least, she'd offer moral support.

The hour dragged on so agonizingly Molly thought he had died again, and this time gone to hell. He ended up propping his chin up on his hands, observing the inn with bright red eyes. At one point, a rather attractive bar patron began to flirt with him, but he sent them packing with a heavy heart. Much as he'd prefer to be getting laid right now, he had to keep his eyes on the prize.

The cute prize he had to kill without even getting to have some fun with first.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the group stood up and began moving towards the stairs. Molly could barely force himself to wait the five seconds he told himself to before standing up and beginning to slowly move after them. It was hard to be subtle with how loudly his jewelry clinked and clanked, but somehow, he managed to make it to the stairs with minimal suspicious side-eyes, just in time to spot which door Caleb disappeared into, followed by the short masked figure. Luckily, the two beefier companions were in different rooms - the half-orc seemingly alone, and the monk accompanied by the blue tiefling.

Some of the tension left Molly’s shoulders. He wasn't sure who the other person was, or how much of a threat they'd be, but based on their size, it seemed that they were small enough he could incapacitate them without having to kill them. That'd be nice. He already detested having to kill one person tonight.

After making a mental note of which door it was, Molly headed back downstairs, returning to his previous table, which had thankfully been left untouched. As he had on basically every job before this one, he contemplated why he didn't just buy a damn hood, since his rather flashy wardrobe made sneaking around difficult - a large hazard considering his line of work. The answer he came to was the same as always, of course.He loved standing out, showing off. The excuse he had given his employer was that no one would _suspect_ him. What kind of idiot assassin dressed like he _wanted_ to be seen? No one would see it coming.

Thoughts like these occupied Molly’s mind as he waited. One hour passed, then two, maybe even three - he stopped keeping track at that point - before he decided the pair _definitely_ had to be asleep by now. He was even a little tired himself, sitting there staring at his drink for so long.

He was able to make his way upstairs without trouble. The patrons still awake were too drunk to remember most of the night, and all of the inn staff were either dozing off in corners or chatting nonchalantly with each other.

Once Molly got to the door, things changed. He realized, belatedly, that he didn't actually really know how to use the lockpicks he had brought along. Normally he was _invited_ into the room. With a sigh, he crouched down - again cursing his employer - and produced a lockpick from his bag.

Said lockpick snapped the moment he shoved it into the keyhole.

The snapping sound was rather loud, and he winced, quickly glancing back and forth to see if anyone was approaching. He crouched there, tense, for several seconds, before eventually relaxing and standing up.

“Fuck’s sake,” he mumbled under his breath, before looking up once more to study the door. On a whim, he tried to turn the doorknob.

No such luck.

Gods, he should have scouted this place before now. He'd have to find another way in - he was lucky the first lockpick breaking hadn't attracted any attention, but he couldn't count on his luck holding, and there would definitely be more broken lockpicks.

As Molly scanned the hallway for any sort of clues, he realized something. With renewed hope swelling in his chest, he slipped once more downstairs, this time heading right out the front door and circling around to the back.

Just as he had suspected, windows lined the back wall. Caleb's room was the first door when you hit the stairs, so logically, the first window was his. With this theory in mind, Molly glanced around, quickly spotting a tree whose branch leaned close enough to the window that climbing it would be simple enough.

Thanks to his lithe form, Molly managed to scale the tree with ease. The bark provided plenty of footholds, even for his absolutely impractical boots, and the branches were thick enough that he didn't have to worry about them snapping under his weight. In order to get to the window, he _did_ have to press his stomach to the branch and slide himself forward in a rather undignified way, but hell, it worked.

The window with no effort, and Molly didn't hesitate to slide himself in feet-first. He landed on the ground easily, the window not being very high, and brushed dirt off of his coat, unable to help the small grin on his face or the pleased flick of his tail. Things were finally turning up Molly.

Of course, that was when movement from the bed caught his eye. A figure flailed in the sheets - he saw an orange cat stand from where it had been curled up in the sheets and jump off of the bed, advancing towards him - and Caleb sat up.

There was a brief moment of eye contact, where Molly saw several emotions cross Caleb's face. Confusion. Disbelief. Panic. And before Molly could move, Caleb was shaking awake someone in the bed beside him, and he could hear a soft hiss of, “Nott, wake up.”

To Molly's surprise, a goblin sat up. That was all he had time to register before said goblin was lunging for a weapon abandoned on the floor, and Molly immediately drew his scimitars, slicing them in an 'x’ across the back of his neck to activate the blades with practiced ease. They lit up, their glow providing the otherwise dim room a modest amount of light.

As he lunged for Caleb, stumbling slightly in an attempt to not step on the cat, he realized belatedly he didn't remember what his employer had said about the man's fighting capabilities - at the same moment, there was a bright flash, and something searingly hot slammed into his chest. As he staggered back, he heard a shout of, “Nott! Get help!”

No, no, _fuck_ no, there was no way in hell Molly was taking on five people - two of whom could almost definitely bench-press him - but the goblin was skittering out the door before he could do anything.

What could he do? He couldn't just abandon the job - not with the stakes being held over his head - but he was mincemeat if he stayed here. He could escape, let the group leave and track them on foot until they lowered their guard enough for him to strike, but-

-shit, that had been a fireball. His coat - seriously? His _favorite_ coat? - was now on fire. In the brief seconds his train of thoughts had run rampant, the fire had managed to cling to his coat and eat away at a considerable amount; not to mention the pain in his chest from where the fireball had hit his skin. He let out a yelp, beating at the flames with his sleeve in a desperate attempt to distinguish them, and in that moment he saw Caleb, swinging downwards at him a simple but no doubt sharp dagger.

Molly was able to narrowly sidestep and avoid a worse blow, but the blade still struck him, drawing blood in a long but shallow wound. He gritted his teeth, spinning to face Caleb once more and slashing at the man's neck with one blade, aiming for his left leg with the other - an attempt to land at least one strike - and was rewarded with a hiss of pain. Unfortunately, Caleb backed up several steps, and Molly had the sinking feeling he was about to be the recipient of yet another fireball.

That was when the door slammed open, light flooding the room. Several voices overlapped as four people streamed inside, almost falling over each other in their haste, and, as Molly registered in horror that the only unblocked exit was the window - which was too small for him to make a quick escape, especially since he'd have to turn his back on his new opponents - they began to attack.

Gods, he wished Yasha was here.

To Molly's credit, he managed to find them off quite well. For about two seconds. In such a cramped room, and surrounded as he was, it was near impossible for him to deflect one blow without opening himself up to another, and attacking was _definitely_ not an option.

And it was as he parried an attack from the monk's staff that he looked up just in time to see the hilt of a sword come crashing down towards him.

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i never write another fight scene again itll be too soon


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly's fate is decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go ! little bit of a shorter chapter this time - this will probably be the standard length for the rest of the chapters, though. the editings slightly rushed since i wanted to get it done before leaving to see a friend but honestly thats just how it is on this bitch of an earth

The first thing Molly felt was head-splitting pain. He let out a soft groan, instinctively shifting, only to find that his movement was restricted. Bright crimson eyes fluttered open to make out the immediate scene - he was sitting upright, his arms bound tightly to his sides by plain rope, his bag and swords somewhere out of sight. In front of him, the same group of five he had seen before appeared to be in a heated discussion. Well, four of them were - the goblin seemed preoccupied by something on the ground in front of her, though what it was, Molly couldn't tell. Caleb held the same cat Molly had seen before in his arms, and stroked it gently as he spoke, brilliant blue eyes flickering towards Molly.

“He is awake now,” Caleb said suddenly, and the rest of the group turned to face Molly.

These people were _definitely_  not happy to see him.

The monk woman was the first to react, squatting down so that she was on eye level with Molly. She squinted at him. “So… what were you doing in Caleb and Nott’s room?” She rested one hand on her staff as she spoke.

“He was trying to kill us!” The goblin girl interjected without looking up. "Or rob us! Something awful."

“I was not!” Molly exclaimed, his spade-tipped tail lashing behind him. “I was just… drunk." He lied, thinking quickly. "I thought I was in my room.”

“You, ah, came in through the window, _ja_?” Caleb pointed out, still running his hands through the cat's fur as he spoke. “That seems a very odd way of trying to get into your room.”

“I was _drunk_! Have you ever met a drunk person? We do very weird things!” Molly protested.

The woman crouching in front of him seemed to be about to say something else, but the goblin exclaimed, “found it!” and held up a folded piece of paper, and Molly realized with a growing sense of dread that that had been his bag she was going through.

The goblin - Nott? That was the name he had heard - unfolded the paper, and although Molly struggled even harder against his ropes, there wasn't much he could do as Nott read the contents to herself, her lips silently moving. Finally, she tilted her head back to look up at Caleb, looking... confused? Afraid? “Caleb, what is this?”

This prompted Caleb to snatch the paper away, his eyes only briefly scanning over it before saying, “I need to talk to him. Alone.”

Shite. Had the notes Molly had taken down on the paper really been that bad? All he'd written down was basic details - Caleb's name, appearance, the little bit he had retained about the man's history, the reward money - as a motivator. At least, that was all he _remembered_ writing down. Maybe he had jotted down a thing or two calling Caleb a snack, but really, could you blame him? Regardless, though, he doubted that was severe enough to warrant complete privacy for whatever fucked up thing Caleb wanted to do to him.

Unless he just wanted to bang.

Molly doubted it, but it did give him an idea - he could flirt his way out. It was much easier with only one person in the room. Two he could handle depending on _which_ two, but five had definitely been out of the question.

He waited patiently as the group debated this, with the eventual consensus being for the rest to leave once they knew it was safe. The monk woman crouched down and gripped the rope, yanking it tighter, and Molly let out a strained grunt. “Don't try shit,” the woman warned, before nodding to Caleb and saying something else he didn't catch. Then she left with the others.

The moment the door closed, Caleb began to pace, still stroking the cat in his arms, whose purring Molly could hear even from his position on the floor.

“Wow. _She_ was mean.” Was the first thing Molly said, at the same time that Caleb asked, “who hired you? Was it Trent?”

“You're really friends with her? 'Cause I think you could do a lot better,” Molly continued, pretending he hadn't heard. “Like, for example-”

“ _Who hired you_?” Caleb was still pacing, an expression on his face that Molly couldn't quite decipher. Panic? Excitement? Impatience? Well, definitely impatience, but he wasn't sure about the other two.

“You're really no fun, you know.” Molly put on a fake pout. “I'm trying to make pleasant conversation, and here you are-”

“I will not ask you again.” Caleb set the cat down on the bed, then turned back to face Molly, a small ball of fire crackling into existence just above his palm. Gods, if Molly wasn't in actual danger of losing his life, he'd find this more than a little hot. Although… was it just his imagination, or did Caleb eye the flames with fear?

“No need to get violent. We're both gentlemen here,” Molly slid back an inch or two, the burn on his chest aching as a reminder of just how much that fire _fucking hurt_. Never mind the damage it had done to his precious coat. “Look, I don't _know_ who hired me. My employer receives contracts and assigns them to me.”

“Your employer must know, then, _ja_?”

“Yes, but-” Shite. “But I can't return to ask him.” Molly's tail flicked back and forth behind him, and Caleb eyed it with interest.

“Why is that?”

“You're still alive. I can't return without proof of your death.” It struck Molly suddenly that he was basically agreeing to help Caleb, which was _way_ more than he had signed up for, but he had a feeling he should play along for now.

“What happens if you do?” Caleb’s voice was soft, thoughtful.

“I…” Fuck. Molly couldn't say _why_ \- that would let Caleb hold it over his head as well. “...will not get what I need from my employer, if I don't kill you.” That was true enough.

“If I got you what you needed, you would find me the information from your employer?” Caleb pressed on.

A faint hope blossomed in Molly's chest, quickly dashed when he realized that the only viable way of making sure his employer wouldn't continue blackmailing him was killing him, which would be quite the challenge, considering how heavily guarded he was. Still, Molly's only chance of getting out of here was playing nice until he could ditch them.

“Of course.”

There was a long pause. “I'll be back soon. I need to... discuss this with the group. Ah, but first…” Caleb crouched down in front of Molly and extinguished the flames dancing in his hand. “I need your coat buttons.” He stated it as simply as though he had told Molly the date, and with no hesitation, reached forward and began to pluck off the buttons that weren't covered by rope.

“You'll ruin my coat!” Molly complained, attempting to twist away from Caleb's prying hands.

“It’s already ruined,” Caleb pointed out, gesturing at the scorch marks from last night. “Hold still.” He braced his free hand on Molly's shoulder to yank off a particularly stubborn button, and if Molly hadn't been so pissed off, he'd have enjoyed the warm touch.

He enjoyed it a little anyways, of course, but it'd have been much better if it wasn't at the cost of his jacket.

“Why the hell do you even need them?”

“Nott likes buttons.”

“You’re a very cruel man, Caleb Widogast.”

With the last button stolen, Caleb stood up. It was hard to tell through all the grime on his face, but he appeared almost upset by the comment.

“Not in the way you think.” His voice was barely audible. Before Molly could respond - although really, what the hell was he supposed to say to that? - Caleb was striding towards the door. He stepped outside without so much as a goodbye, and Molly was left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully trent is the. right fucking name im two episodes behind and deathly afraid of checking the wiki


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly makes some animal friends, and repeatedly pisses people off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another shorter chapter, but things will pick up within the next few chapters! however, updates are going to be very infrequent for a while, which is elaborated on in the end notes.

Molly had no idea how much time passed, but _fuck_ , he was bored. He sat there for what felt like hours watching a beetle inch its way across the floor, occasionally flicking it with his tail to see what it would do. Every time without fail, it would roll over and land on its back, where it stayed wriggling helplessly until he flicked it once more to get it back onto its feet. Whenever it strayed almost out of range, he swept it back towards him - he didn't want to lose his only source of entertainment, after all.

Eventually, the door creaked back open, and Molly flipped the beetle upright with his tail one last time. It skittered off towards a hole in the wall, no doubt cursing him in whatever beetle language it spoke.

Caleb and Nott entered, and he could hear drifts of the other’s voices floating through. “This is a mistake,” “we shouldn't trust him,” and other equally supportive things.

Nott immediately climbed onto the bed, pulling the cat into her lap, while Caleb shut the door and leaned against it, closing his eyes. He mumbled something in Zemnian before opening his eyes once more and glancing at Molly. Damn, he had pretty eyes.

“We have decided to help you, on the condition that you help us.”

“So you'll untie me?” A little less tactful than Molly had meant for it to be, but _fuck_ , these ropes were digging into him, and he was pretty sure his legs were dead beneath him.

“Maybe. If you behave.”

“We're allies now,” Molly pointed out. “You should trust me.”

“You tried to kill me.”

“Can't we just leave the past in the past?” Molly attempted, and he could have sworn he saw Caleb roll his eyes.

“It was yesterday.” Then whatever good humor Molly had managed to briefly drag out of Caleb seemed to disappear. “We should plan this out.” He crossed over to the bed and sat down beside Nott - who now toyed with a handful of buttons Molly had a sneaking suspicion were his.

“I suppose so. But first, can I have some food? I haven't eaten since…” fuck, when _was_ the last time Molly had eaten? It had been shortly before he began scoping the group out, but he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. Sunlight filtered through the window, so it had definitely been at least a few hours, but from his angle he couldn't see the position of the sun. “...It's been a while.”

Suddenly realizing something, he leaned forward. “Since I'm tied up, you should feed me by hand. It'll be hot.” He winked.

Caleb looked away, and to Molly’s immense pleasure, the man's face was quickly reddening - even the tips of his ears turned a bright pink. “You… you can be untied for that. But, ah, we should take care of business first, _nein_? Then you can eat.”

“You're no fun.” Molly pouted. “Fine, then. What do you suggest?”

“We should visit your employer first. What did you need from him?” Caleb scratched under the cat's chin as he spoke.

“His death,” Molly said simply.

Caleb was visibly surprised, his hand slowly dropping from the cat's chin, and even Nott looked up from the handful of buttons with a started expression. “Wouldn't just quitting be easier?” The goblin asked.

Molly shook his head. “He has… information that I need kept secret. So either I work for him until I die, or I kill him. Or, rather, _you_ kill him.” He flashed Caleb a smile. “You're a group of five. Surely you can take down one man.”

In all honesty, he did somewhat doubt the group’s likelihood of success - Powerful as some of them appeared to be, it wasn't exactly _one_ person they had to deal with; it was his employer _and_ all of the mercenaries the man had hired to protect him. Molly wasn't about to mention that, though. Yet. He'd be shot down immediately.

Neither human nor goblin looked pleased to hear this. “What information is it that is so important you must resort to murder?” Caleb asked.

“It could get _me_ killed if anyone else found out. Including you.”

“But _how_?” Caleb pressed.

“That's my own business.” Molly's voice came out in more of a snap than he had expected, but it hit him suddenly how _tired_ of all of this he was. Of having to hide, of having to work for the greaseball of a man he called his employer, and now of being tied up.

“We need to know it isn't anything dangerous." After a pause, Caleb amended, "to us."

Molly narrowed his eyes. “And when were you planning on telling your friends about how you killed-”

“That's enough,” Caleb interrupted, glancing nervously at Nott, who looked between the two with a confused expression. “I see your point. You can keep your secrets. For now.”

“But, Caleb-” Nott began.

“Nott, please.” Caleb rested a hand on her shoulder, and leaned in to say something else that Molly couldn't catch. Then he straightened back up and said, “so, we find your employer first, and find out who hired you.”

“And then you kill him for me.” Molly finished.

“We'll see.”

“ _What?_ ” Molly's tail lashed behind him. “I'm putting my ass on the line for you. If he finds out I lied about you dying, I'm _fucked_. The _least_ you could do is kill him for me.”

“You tried to kill me. You're lucky I haven't turned you in.” Caleb pointed out.

“You haven't turned me in because you _need_ me!” Gods, as cute as this guy was, he _really_ pissed Molly off. “And I won't help you if you don't help me.”

Caleb looked agitated, but only repeated, “we'll see.” And after a short pause, “We should also figure out when we need to leave. My party has business in town to finish, but how far away is your employer? And how long before he sends someone else out to finish the job?”

“He's based about a day away on foot. In Zadash.” Molly had to actually think on the next part. “Since I was _unconscious_ ,” he paused to glare pointedly at the pair, “I’m not sure how long it's been, but typically, a week is given. Not counting travel time.”

Caleb let out a relieved sigh. “ _Toll_ , that gives us time.”

“One more thing. How, exactly, am I supposed to convince him you're dead? I need to show him some kind of proof. Typically, a severed head. Unless you're willing to lose a finger or two.”

“That is... a problem,” Caleb admitted, scratching his beard. “But we will figure it out. We have time, _ja_?” He stood up, giving the cat on Nott’s lap one last stroke. “I’ll be back later. We have things to do. Frumpkin here will keep an eye on you.” He gestured at the cat. With that, he made his way towards the door.

“What about my food?” Molly called after Caleb, but the redhead ignored him as he stepped out of the room. Damn, maybe Molly had gone a little too far. Not that he could really say he cared about his captor's feelings too much at the moment, but his growling stomach was an unpleasant reminder that he should  _probably_ try to stay on the man's good side.

Nott shifted Frumpkin off of her lap and trailed after Caleb, but paused in the middle of the room to turn towards Molly and make an _I'm watching you_ gesture, pointing at her own eyes and then at Molly's. He stuck his tongue out in response.

It was childish, maybe, but it was extremely gratifying to hear her small “hmph”.

The door slammed shut, and he was left alone once more.

Well, alone with the cat.

Speaking of which, why the hell was he being babysat by a _cat_? Sure, Molly was a piss-poor assassin, but he, personally, thought he warranted a few more precautions than that.

He studied the cat with narrowed red eyes, wondering if it was special somehow. It appeared to be, in all regards, a normal orange tabby. Maybe a little on the plump side, but that didn't mean much.

He had to admit, though, that he didn't like the way it looked at him. Its slit-pupiled green stare struck him as strangely human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this will most likely be on a hiatus for about 3-4 weeks. ill still write it when i can, but i have finals to finish up, and right after, im flying out to germany! im very excited for it, but i most likely wont have much time to write while im there, and i dont know yet what my wifi situation will be like. thats also why this chapter might seem a bit rushed - i wanted to get it out before i left (since i leave very soon), so people following this more closely know whats going on.
> 
> apologies for the wait, but hopefully ill be able to at least have more time to plan this out a bit more! and the rest of the summer i should be able to update fairly often, since irl stuff will slow down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly makes more animal friends and that sweet, sweet lore is dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whats up ! a little bit of a surprise chapter before my actual hiatus, because i had a LOT of time before and after my final today
> 
> also, for the backstory stuff, i abridged calebs since it was basically word for word what he says in whichever episode that was

“Heeere, kitty, kitty,” Molly cooed, slapping his tail against the floor with a sharp _thwack!_ in an attempt to attract the cat's attention. “You have claws, don't you? I'll steal you a fish if you cut me free.”

Frumpkin stared at him, then slowly shifted to tuck its paws under itself.

“I'll _buy_ you a fish if you cut me free.” Molly tried.

The cat blinked.

“The most expensive fish on the market?”

No reaction.

“Fine. Can you at least steal _me_ a fish?” Molly felt a little pathetic begging a cat for food, but he was _starving_. He was even starting to hope that the beetle would come back - it would be a little crunchy, sure, but desperate times, desperate measures.

The cat meowed, flicking its tail.

“You'll _buy_ me a fish,” he guessed.

Strangely, Frumpkin began to purr.

“Holy fuck, you'll really buy me a fish? You can do that?” Molly leaned forward in excitement, nearly tipping over in the process. His own tail swished back and forth.

Still purring, Frumpkin stood and stretched.

“I don't know what that means,” Molly said, a hopeful expression still dancing on his features.

The cat hopped off of the bed, striding towards the door. “Absolutely superb, you funky little cat,” he whispered in awe.

Then the door clicked open and in walked Caleb, holding a wooden plate of food. He gently shut the door behind him. “I got tired of you attempting to bribe my cat,” he announced as Frumpkin rubbed up against his ankles, still purring.

“How’d you know I was bribing your cat?” Molly asked.

Caleb paused, giving him a funny look. “You were not aware I could see through his eyes? I thought that was why you did not shout for help.”

“I… wait. Fuck!” Molly groaned. He had honestly been so preoccupied by his 'conversation’ with the cat that he hadn't even considered it.

To his surprise, Caleb laughed, and Molly’s heart gave a weird twinge. “You are very odd, you know.” He paused. “I never did get your name.”

Molly hesitated for a second, but hell, what was the harm in it? He wasn't that well-known - under his current name, anyway. “Mollymauk. My friends call me Molly, though.”

“Mollymauk,” Caleb repeated under his breath. He set the plate down on the floor, and Molly saw that it was simple foods - half a loaf of bread, a few sizeable clumps of an unrecognizable meat, and a lollipop. “I was going to buy you some fish, but this is not exactly a port city. Jester - ah, the noisy blue one - contributed the lollipop.” Caleb commented as Molly's eyes drifted towards it. “Hold still. And don't try anything,” he added, before beginning to undo the ropes that bound Molly.

Maybe Molly _should_ have tried to escape then, but he was so hungry he only blurted a quick “thanks,” before reaching over and attempting to cram all of the bread into his mouth at once.

Caleb watched this scene unfold with a mix of disgust and amusement on his face, settling down cross-legged in front of Molly. Frumpkin immediately padded over and wriggled its way into Caleb's lap.

“Can I ask you something, Caleb?” Molly asked as he bit into what was left of the bread.

“You just did.”

Molly raised his hand to playfully smack Caleb on the arm, but seeing the man flinch faintly, he lowered it and settled for rolling his eyes. “Why'd you kill your parents?” Caleb’s expression dropped, and Molly, realizing that that perhaps wasn't the best thing to ask out of the blue, hurriedly added, “I was just wondering, of course. I don't know much about parents, but they seem like they're nice to have.”

“They are.” Molly had to strain to hear Caleb's voice. Then Caleb cleared his throat, shifting slightly where he sat. “It is a long story. I'll tell you if you tell me what it is your employer is holding over your head.”

Hm. Fuck.

Molly took another bite of bread to buy himself some time, tapping his long nails on the wooden floor with his free hand. He _really_ didn't want yet another person blackmailing him, but at the same time, _gods_ he was curious.

“Fine.” He finally decided. “I'm trusting you with this,” he added, although he realized directly after that he wasn't really sure how trustworthy Caleb even was. He almost took another bite of bread, but the thought occurred to him that he would probably be tied back up when he was done eating. With this in mind, he only nibbled on it a bit.

“Two years ago, I woke up in a grave with no memory. And everything was fine,” Molly maybe exaggerated a bit on that first part - that first week, especially, had been hellish, “until I met my current employer.” Another small nibble on the bread. “He recognized me. Or, rather, this body. And apparently whoever owned it before me had a lot of enemies.” He kept it vague, just in case Caleb would somehow recognize 'his' old name.

“So he is threatening to tell those enemies where you are.” Caleb finished for him. “I do not understand, though. Why assassin work? You are - and I mean this in the nicest way possible - extraordinarily shitty at this.”

Molly shrugged. “Maybe the other guy was good at it? Or he just needed _someone_ to do it, and I was… the easiest to convince.”

Caleb nodded thoughtfully, falling back into silence, and Molly prompted, “now it's your turn.”

The other man sighed. “I suppose it is.”

And so Caleb began to tell the story of how he had murdered his mother and father.

Molly listened with rapt attention, slowly making his way through his meal as he did. And he felt a twinge of compassion for Caleb. The man had been manipulated into killing them by Trent - Molly recognized that name; Caleb had asked if that was who had hired him - and then been institutionalized for it. He had managed to escape eventually, but if Trent was really the one after him, he was being dragged right back into the mess.

“But maybe this is good,” Caleb finished softly. “Now perhaps I will have the chance to kill him once and for all.”

Jesus. Molly's shitty sob story really paled in comparison.

Molly leaned forward, and after a moment of hesitation, placed his hand on Caleb’s forearm. Caleb looked up at him, startled, but to Molly's surprise he didn't pull away. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have joked about it earlier.”

Was it just his imagination, or was a tinge of color creeping onto Caleb's cheeks?

“And… I'll help you,” Molly decided on a whim, _really_ decided. He wasn't just going to ditch at the first opportunity.

“Thank you.” Caleb looked away once more, idly stroking Frumpkin as he spoke. The cat purred, standing in his lap and stretching up to rub its head against his chin. “But-”

At that moment, the door slammed open.

Nott was the first inside, and she pointed rather accusingly at the hand Molly still rested on Caleb's shoulder. “Don't you try and seduce him!”

Jester - that was what Caleb had called her - was even louder than Nott. “Caleb!” She shouted, stretching his name several syllables longer than it was, “we thought you were _dead_!”

“I am fine, thank you.” Caleb pushed himself to his feet, raising his hands in a surrendering manner. Molly simply watched this unfold from the floor, deciding that it was best to seem as non-threatening as possible. No sudden movements.

“You took an awful long time, though,” the half-orc Molly had briefly lusted over before stated, stepping forward. “Are you _sure_ he didn't… charm you or something?”

“I would never-” Molly started, electing to ignore that the only reason that he hadn't was that he hadn't thought of it, but Caleb turned back and shushed him.

“I have not been charmed, Fjord.” Caleb reassured him.

“Sounds like something someone who was charmed would say,” The monk woman interjected, shoving forward with her staff drawn.

“Yeah! How do we know you _really really_ aren't charmed?” Jester chimed in.

“I-” Caleb sighed, letting his arms drop. “Here. I will cast Detect Magic for you.” A quick incantation spilled from his lips, and he waited expectantly for a second. Then two. Five seconds passed, and he said, “See? Now you will believe me, _ja_?”

Some of the group still looked hesitant, but finally Fjord said, “alright. But why'd you take so long, then?”

“Mollymauk here is a very slow eater,” Caleb replied, casting Molly a warning look as he gestured at the now mostly empty plate of food.

“Did he enjoy my lollipop?” Jester asked, at the same time Beau stated with a scowl, “so, you two are on a first-name basis now?”

Caleb winced. “I… believe we should attempt to make nice if we are to be working together.”

“I don't want him walking around in here all free after he tried to kill you,” Beau pointed out, glaring daggers at Molly, whose every ounce of self-control it took not to flip her off now that his hands were free. “What's stopping him from just killing you the moment your guard's down and leaving to collect his reward?”

“I have to agree with Beau on this one,” Fjord admitted rather hesitantly. “He may be a shitty assassin-” Molly opened his mouth to retort, but only a grunt came out as Caleb kicked him in the leg. “But he's still dangerous.”

“He has not tried to kill me yet. He's had a good chunk of time to do it, too.”

“Caleb-”

“ _Bitte_ ,” Caleb interrupted. “If you do not trust him, trust me. I will take full blame for whatever happens.”

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the party, as well as more than a few shocked expressions, but finally, they agreed, with various amounts of suspicion in their voices.

“We should go back to shopping now.” Fjord stated. “For his guard-”

“I think Mollymauk will be fine on his own for now.” Caleb flinched as there were immediate shouts of disagreement, and waited for them to quiet before he spoke again. “He… knows what will happen if he leaves.”

The look he shot Molly told Molly exactly what he had feared - that Caleb would tell the rest of them what Molly had told him if he ran off.

Well, shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if youre interested in more widomauk from me, i just started another fic, called i like it heavy ! its got a waay different vibe than this but i wanted an excuse to write more fluff. both will be updated probably one after another (once im off hiatus) - i plan on writing one whenever i get blocked with the other
> 
> one more thing ! id like to thank everyone whos left a comment so much, i havent replied to very many because im bad at talking to other people but i really do appreciate all of them and im so glad people enjoy my writing


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